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Jesuit goes full throttle

The No. 1 Crusaders rip apart Beaverton 52-0 to open Metro League play

BEAVERTON - Not that the Metro League needed any additional notice, but Jesuit's football team fired a heck of a warning shot across the league's bow Friday night.

The top-ranked and undefeated defending state champion Crusaders (1-0 in Metro play, 5-0 overall) turned their annual rivalry game against Beaverton into a rout, destroying the Beavers (0-1 and 2-3) 52-0 on their home turf at Beaverton High School.

'It was a total team effort. Every kid stepped up in his responsibility and we haven't had that yet,' said Jesuit coach Ken Potter. 'We got that this game and hopefully that continues and we just keep getting better.'

Our 'hard work paid off,' said Jesuit senior tailback Paul Weatheroy, who rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. 'Our offensive line did a great job ... and our fullback, Owen Marecic, did a great job as well. It was fun.'

Beaverton had considerably less fun Friday night, managing just 88 yards in total offense while allowing 527 - 236 of those coming on Jesuit's first four touchdowns - to the Crusaders.

'Going into tonight, I thought if we play the perfect game, that we would have a shot at this,' said Beaverton coach Bob Boyer. 'The bad thing is, they did everything we thought they were going to do. We just weren't ready.'

'They've got a good team over there and they played hard,' added Beaverton quarterback Austin Potter.

Jesuit started its 'fun' on its first play from scrimmage when Weatheroy went over right guard, broke one Beaverton tackle and raced 62 yards to score just 18 seconds into Friday's game.

While Jesuit didn't score on its next possession, the Crusaders did launch a couple more lightning bolts before the first quarter ended. On its third possession, Jesuit needed just two plays to score, getting a 60-yard Dan Wagner-to-Jamaine Olson touchdown pass and a Tyler Cope extra point to make it 14-0 with 4:30 left in the quarter.

After a quick stop by the Crusader defense, Jesuit's offense banged forward with three Weatheroy carries, then sent Raphiel Lambert sprinting around left end for a 60-yard touchdown and a 21-0 edge with 1:14 left in the quarter.

Things got even better for Jesuit - and worse for the Beavers - in the second period. The Crusaders added a 54-yard Weatheroy scoring run on the second play of the quarter, and after another three-play stop by the Jesuit defense, a 4-yard Wagner-to-Kyle Shepanek TD pass to make it 35-0. After another three-down Beaver possession, Jesuit boosted its edge to 42-0 on a 25-yard TD jaunt by Marecic, and capped its half with a 39-yard Cope field goal on the final play of the second quarter to extend its lead to 45-0.

Lambert, who finished with 118 yards and two TDs on 13 carries, added his team's final score on a 5-yard run with 4 minutes, 25 seconds left in the third quarter.

'I don't think we really expected this,' said Olson, who in addition to his one long TD catch, joined his teammates in providing tough defense against Beaverton's talented receiving corps. 'We were just told to go out and give it our all … and look at the result. It feels real good. We really clicked tonight.'

For their part, the Beavers managed just six first downs and advanced into Jesuit territory just twice in the game. The first of those came when the Crusaders turned the ball over on downs at their own 49, and the second time when the Beavers drove 51 yards to the Jesuit 31 late in the fourth quarter before Mason Rippey ended the threat by picking off a Potter pass at the 25.

'They came out strong. Their pass defense is quick and they're well coached,' Potter said. 'We just need to learn from our mistakes and come out with a better attitude next week. We'll be ready to play.'

'Every game they win, they pop huge plays,' Boyer said. 'That was our goal, not to let them do that. We started bringing everybody up to try and stop the run and unfortunately, then you leave your guys one on one and that's their passing game right now.'

Marecic added 54 yards on three carries for Jesuit, while Wagner completed 7-of-10 passes for 125 yards, three to Michael Lowe for 46 yards. Joel Gross led Beaverton with 20 yards rushing on two carries, Potter completed 6-of-20 passes for 35 yards, and McBee made four catches for 26 yards.